Finance chief says economic recovery becoming 'more pronounced'
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol speaks during a meeting of economy-related ministers at the government complex in the central city of Sejong, Wednesday. Yonhap
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Wednesday that Korea's economic recovery is becoming "more pronounced," citing active fiscal spending and strengthened policy management.
Speaking at a meeting of economy-related ministers in Sejong, Koo said consumer spending is rebounding, aided by government programs, such as "consumption coupons," while exports are also showing solid improvement.
"Our economy's recovery is becoming more pronounced," Koo said.
Koo emphasized that the government will work to spread the momentum of economic recovery to regions outside the greater Seoul metropolitan area.
The government plans to revise national contracting and public procurement rules to give local governments greater autonomy and help revitalize local economies, the finance ministry said.
The ministry also said that 26 major public institutions plan to expand their investment this year to 69 trillion won ($47 billion), up from the original budget plan of 66 trillion won.
Measures to support regional economies will include significantly increasing the participation of local construction firms in public projects within their regions, the ministry said.
To this end, the government plans to expand the scope of region-restricted bidding, currently applied to projects worth under 8.8 billion won for public institutions and 10 billion won for local governments, to include projects valued at up to 15 billion won.